Juneteenth Celebration at the Scottsboro Boys Museum

Dr. and Ms. Kinshasa receive a special gift, museum history and scrap book, from the Scottsboro Boys Museum Historian, Garry Morgan. (Photo by Darlene Korab)

Many thanks to Ms. Darlene Korab for answering the call for help in the photo department.

Dr Kwando Kinshasa visits Scottsboro, Huntsville Times pictures and story: http://media.al.com/breaking/photo/scottsboro-boys-15b8636e0b68c047.jpg http://blog.al.com/breaking/2010/06/historian_hopes_to_bring_scott.html

Congressional Candidate Steve Raby, Democrat, 5th Congressional District was present with his family on Saturday at the Scottsboro Boys Museum and Cultural Center. Steve is a down to earth person, a family man who cares about our area. I was very impressed with Mr. Raby.

The Juneteenth celebration at the Scottsboro Boys Museum & Cultural Center was a memorable event. 75 people ate with us for this Juneteenth celebration. BBQ rib plates, hamburgers, hot dogs and polish sausages were enjoyed by many participants. We started cooking the ribs at 9AM, by 10AM the smell of hickory smoked BBQ filled the air around the museum. An ominous threat of rain and a thunderstorm passed us by to the south. The Reverend R. L Shanklin prepared and cooked the ribs. I cooked the hot dogs, burgers and sausages. Rev. Shanklin's ribs were extraordinary, marinated overnight, cooked just right and continuously basted with just the right combination of sauce. Needless to say, we sold out of ribs. Many thanks to the following ladies: Ms. Cheryl Snodgrass Caffey for preparing the baked beans, and potato salad; Ms. Louise Johnson for coleslaw; Ms. Elizabeth Johnson for deviled eggs; ladies serving food were: Mayor Ann Martin, Ms. Betty Price and Ms. Loretta Stevens. A special thanks to Mr. Byron Green for all of his help and for bringing the "Big BBQ Cooker" and Mr. Tommy Miller of Scottsboro Meats for his "Big Cooker."

A very special thanks goes out to Mrs. Lynda Hodges who prepared food, flowers and table settings on Friday night to welcome Dr. and Mrs. Kinshasa to Scottsboro.

Many Thanks to the numerous retail businesses in Scottsboro who made contributions toward our event: Flowers Bread, Golden Flake Potato Chips, Little Debbie Pastries, Maples Rugs ( Thank you Mrs. Maples for the rug contribution. Many more thanks for your financial support of the museum.) Purity Ice Cream, Scottsboro Meat Market (Tommy Miller has a great grill for BBQing tons of food.) and WalMart, WalMart has made several contributions to us-,many thanks!

Mr. Charles Elliot provided opening prayer, Ms. Cheryl Snodgrass Caffey spoke about the meaning of the Juneteenth event. Mr. and Mrs. Gary Spears were presented with a gift of appreciation for their service to the Scottsboro Boys Museum and Cultural Center.

Other speakers included Ms. Sheila Washington and Dr. Kenneth Pitts provided closing prayer. There were several singers to grace the halls of Joyce Chapel. Every time folks sing, the old Chapel enhances the beautiful sound of archipelago voices. Singers included Mr. Alex Ellison, Howard Branford and Mr. Franklin McDaniels. Mr. McDaniels brought his harmonica and once again the beautiful melodious notes resonated within the walls of the museum and chapel.

45 people stayed for Dr Kinshasa's presentation. Dr. Kinshasa is a moving speaker, he related to the group about the interview of Clarence Norris. He told of Norris' ordeals as related to him by Mr. Norris. In the video Mr. Norris spoke bluntly about his experiences on death row in Jim Crow Alabama. He spoke of Attorney General Knight and the Judges.

Dr. Kinshasa's account of the raid at Harper's Ferry was equally interesting. He told of the 5 African Americans who were on the raid with John Brown. One of the African Americans was Lewis Sheridan Leary. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Sheridan_Leary

He spoke about the 4 states of the Union which the Emancipation Proclamation did not apply which slavery was legal. They were Maryland, Delaware, Kentucky and Missouri, those states did not secede from the Union but practiced slavery.

Of equal interest was the revelation concerning Adolph Hitler sending an envoy to the southern states to study the justice system of the Jim Crow South.

Dr. Kinshasa's theme was that of the "exit, voice and loyalty framework" as it applies to African Americans and the Scottsboro Boys. "Exit, voice and loyalty" is a process which reflects a political community and peoples migration from tyranny. An oppressed people will flee an area of oppression to have their voice heard while remaining loyal to their cause and people. Such is the case of the Scottsboro Boys. As one examines the Scottsboro Boys mothers and families stricken by the horrors of tyrannical Jim Crow white supremacy, the framework of "exit, voice and loyalty" becomes very clear, particularly since the mothers of the Scottsboro Defendants traveled around the world in the attempts to gain justice and freedom for their children. Clarence Norris and Haywood Patterson escaped to tell their story. The Scottsboro Boys Museum and Cultural Center will continue to present the history of their struggles. As George Santayana said, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

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